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Amanda Ritchie

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Amanda is the Londolozi Marketing Manager & has been in the marketing, advertising & creative industry for 15 years & the health and wellness industry for 9 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Journalism from The University of Cape Town ...

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18 Comments

on Wildlife Photography Gear Review: Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | SPORTS

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Awesome pictures as usual Trevor the Piva male really is a favourite of yours too photograph. Have you guys been seeing a leopard in your southern section called the Kigelia female she is the recently independent daughter of the Little Bush female and Makhotini male I only ask because I know Little Bush and her where seen a few times in your southern sections over the last few months and she hasnt been seen down on Sabi Sabi for a while know and was thinking maybe she is setting up territory on Dudley?

Your photos are incredible Trevor. Stunning!

Master Tracker

Very, very good- I would have said they were taken on a CaNikon prime. Mind you, I have had good results with Sigma and if I go half frame -my first purchase after that would be the 150 macro 2.8.
My guess is that would be excellent for close work.
One other point that needs to be made is that the guides at Londolozi are very keen photographers and have a good understanding of what it takes for a good shot. I suspect that there is a fierce rivalry (that the guests don’t see) behind the scenes

Hi Ian… Thanks for the comments. Good observation, I hope you enjoy our Week in Pictures #200 coming out this week; some behind-the-scenes rivalry is going to be brought to the big screen.

Michael Klauber
Guest

Fabulous images! Great photo work!

Awesome photos and review, Trevor. Thanks!

Anna Ehrlich
Guest

Trevor, these photos are breathtaking! We had the most amazing trip in June and miss Londolozi!

Rocco Rossouw
Guest

Great Pics.
Thanks.

Michael Raddall
Guest

Great review and stunning images, thanks Trevor!

Great photos Trev! I really enjoyed seeing the Piva male with you on drive.

Thank you very much everyone for your kind words it is much appreciated

Blaire S i know we see her from time to time but not often enough to know for sure that she has moved into our area but will be interesting to watch that area carefully over the next few months to see if her territory has shifted

Hey Trevor –

Those are some amazing images! You are very talented. I can hardly wait for the book to come out! (Several of shots look very similar to some that I went home with – wondering if they were actually from the days we were out.)

Appreciate seeing all the images – please keep them coming!

Daryl Balfour
Guest

Thanks Trevor, interesting review (great pics too!). I have been looking at this lens with interest as I recently sold my Nikon 200-400 and was thinking this Sigma could replace my 300 f2,8 and 80-400 lenses. It would be a great complementary lens to my 400 f2,8. Thanks for the input.

Great Review and great images. Recently saw that Lou Coetzer is using this lens with the TC 1.4 and 2.0 alongside his Nikon 600 f4. This is a serious feather in the cap for this lens. I sit with the same situation as Daryl Balfour, Nikon 300 f2.8 and 80-400. This lens could replace both as I shoot most images between 200 and 400 ( 300 f2.8 with TC 1.4) I have also looked at the 200 – 400 f4 but looking at the market a lot of them are for sale, at one stage ODP het 8 used in stock? Who will know what the “best” combination would be.

Lorenz Korder
Guest

Hi Trevor,

I was just at Londolozi a few weeks ago for a magical few days and rented this lens (Sigma 120-300mm F2.8) from the Photographic Studio. I am an amateur photographer and have never used a lens like this before, I only use the EF-S 18-200mm that came with my Canon 60D as a kit. It was awesome to be able to rent such equipment, and all-in-all, I took many photos I am happy with, link below. However, many of my photos which I did not include in the link were out of focus, some due to slow shutter speed, but most due to incorrect focal point. I was curious with what camera settings you shoot wildlife: 1) What mode do you shoot in? I shot in Aperture Priority (Av Mode) set mostly at F/2.8. 2) How do you set your Auto Focus Mode? My AF settings resulted in many photos with the focal point on a small branch or a patch grass just below the wildlife even though in my viewfinder everything looked in focus. I’d love to hear your tips. Thank you!

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0NGqkRUiGNLLy3

Hi Lorenz,

Sadly Trevor has left Londolozi, but as far as I know he shoots in Aperture priority most of the time as well.
In terms of Auto Focus a lot of the guides here will go with single point focus, shooting in AI Focus on Canon, which is appropriate for a stationary subject. If an animal starts moving towards or away from the camera, it’s usually better to switch to AI Servo, in which the focus tracks the diminishing or increasing distance from the camera to the subject, refocusing constantly.

We’ll run a post on the various focus modes in the next couple of weeks…
Regards

Lorenz Korder
Guest

Thanks for the quick reply James! These are great tips that will try out, and I will look out for your post of focus modes! Sound great!

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